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The merry-go-round of the minor league/major league affliliations has begun

Here is the current Reds situation

Code:

Class Farm Team League Affiliation Status
AAA Louisville International Signed through 2008
AA Chattanooga Southern Signed through 2008
High A Sarasota Florida State Major league team owns affiliate
Low A Dayton Midwest Signed through 2008
Rookie Billings Pioneer Current contract expiring
Rookie Sarasota Gulf Coast Major league team owns affiliate

Teams are about to find out who's available on the affiliation market, and it looks like one of the big prizes has already been claimed.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, which started this season with the bad news that it would be losing its longtime Phillies affiliation, will come out smelling like a rose by grabbing the Yankees as its new major league partner.

Major and minor league teams have notified their central offices and each other of their intentions to seek new affiliates, and teams will get the list of who's available today. They can start signing new deals tomorrow.

But local media in Scranton are already reporting that the Red Barons already have a deal in place. The Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre quoted one New York source saying: "The Yankees are definitely coming to Scranton."

While there's no official word on that yet, the Columbus Clippers are preparing for life without the Yankees, who have been their affiliate since 1979.

"We are excited about the prospects of Huntington Park and the future of professional baseball in Columbus," team president and general manager Ken Schnacke said. "The Yankees have been a great partner, and while the door is open for them to return, we are committed to partnering with any major league organization that shares our excitement for professional baseball in Columbus."

Triple-A could see several interesting changes this offseason, with longtime affiliations potentially ending in Scranton, Columbus and Norfolk as well. The Phillies had been with Scranton since 1989, while the Mets have been in Norfolk since 1969.

A potential new affiliate for Norfolk would be the nearby Washington Nationals, who will be leaving New Orleans after two seasons there.

The Phillies will sign an affiliation agreement with Ottawa, which will play one more season in Canada before moving to a new ballpark in Allentown, Pa., for the 2008 season.

I can't see how Billings' contract won't be renewed. The two clubs have worked together for decades, and the season just completed was a pretty darn good one (quick playoff exit aside). I know Billings was trying to get money for a new ballpark, too. Don't know how the vote turned out, though.

True, but read the rest of the blogs - Billings Montana people post worse than the people on reds.com

The Reds used to have Princeton in the Appy League - I'll take Pulaski. Anybody in Huntington?

Stupid thought - I had heard that Washington, PA had a Frontier League team that draws close to 4000 fans a night. Maybe they could put an Appy team there?

Sadly the Reds couldn't move into the Appy League unless someone else took the Mustangs.

Quirky little minor league baseball rule.

The Appy League is the only one the rule doesn't apply to. But for the rest, if a team leaves one team, MLB & MiLB are committed to lining up another. That link in the first post has a better explanation about it than I could come up with.

All the franchises in the Appy League are owned by major league teams, and the Professional Baseball Agreement allows Major League Baseball to expand or contract the league at its discretion. In that way, the Appy League is like the complex-based Arizona and Gulf Coast leagues.

All other minor leagues establish their affiliations through player-development contracts, the documents that teams are in the process of signing now. MLB guarantees affiliations for those 160 minor league teams, and its rules prohibit a team from leaving one of those leagues in order to add a team in the Appy League.

The Blue Jays aren't adding an affiliate anywhere, so there won't be a domino effect that will push a team into the Appy League. So the only way for the league to replace the Blue Jays would be for an organization to add an affiliate or replace a complex-based team with one in the Appy League.

And about Billings, I actually think the stadium is why the Reds will possibly move elsewhere. History or not, if the Mustangs have the worst facilities in the Pioneer league (Which I've heard several stories that both the stadium & Facilities are one grade above "dump" status) then the Reds need to seek out greener pastures.

I went to two games at Cobb Field this year and the term "dump" is quite appropriate for this venue. I posted the below on 7/25/06:

-Cobb Stadium is um...well...unique. You walk into small rooms to buy some of the concessions. For example, if you want Cotton Candy, you walk under the seats until you find the room with the handwritten cardboard "Cotton Candy" sign. There you find a group of teenagers spinning away...strange. It is also not a stadium with distractions for the non-die hard fans (like my 8 year old daughter) no playground, no silly promotions, nothing. Just sit down and watch the game with 2000 plus other fans, average age about 71.

I would say that the stadium is about the same age....71 years. Also, it is arguable who gets the greatest billing in the stadium, the local American Legion team or the Mustangs. That being said, I hope the Reds renew their contract with Billings as it is only 3 hours away for me. On the other hand, the Reds, or any professional orgainization deserves better.

Calipari is not, nor has he ever been accused or "caught", cheating. He himself turned in one of his players (Camby) for dealing with an agent to get one Final Four overturned. The other is all on the NCAA and Rose. (IF Rose cheated.)

"Cheering for Kentucky is like watching Star Wars and hoping Darth Vader chokes an ewok"

Wasn't MLB talking about doing away with the shorten season league Like the Pioneer league and the GCL? This would allow them to just have extended spring training camp all year and better monitor the players development.

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